#modrock

[distortiondevil]

Modrock

[singeratlarge]

Tim “Chris” Andrews SONG OF THE WEEK: “Discovery”— https://timchrisandrews.bandcamp.com/track/discovery  — As of 1967, Tim a.k.a. Chris Andrews already had notoriety as lead vocalist/guitarist in the psychedelic bands Les Fleur de Lys (“Mud in Your Eye”) and Rupert’s People (“Reflections of Charles Brown”), but managers and Parlophone Records encouraged to break out as a solo act, doing more mainstream orchestral baroque pop material—even marketing him as a “teen idol.” He was advised to change his name from Chris to Tim to distinguish him from another singer-songwriter Christopher Andrews. Then Tim/Chris was partnered with the multi-talented Paul Korda, on the rise as a producer, singer-songwriter, and actor who was in the original London cast of the musical HAIR and later appeared in major films (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, SPINAL TAP)  and he worked with Love Sculpture, Cat Stevens, Frankie Valli, and Roger Daltrey among others (sadly Paul passed away in 2020). Tim/Chris also moved on, collaborating with Daltrey, David Essex, and Davy Jones (Monkees), and continuing to release solo material to this day as Chris Andrews.

With the legendary Clem Cattini on drums, “Discovery” (a non-LP B-side from 1969) features soaring falsetto and a soulful vibrato on par with Steve Marriott. This densely orchestrated track compares to deep cuts by The Kinks and early Bee Gees—a great piece of Motown-influenced mod-era Britpop that stands the test of time.

#timandrews #chrisandrews #paulkorda #clemcattini #modrock #britishrock #psychedelic #fleurdelys #rupertspeople #beegees #hair #piratesofthecaribbean #spinaltap #elkiebrooks #rogerdaltrey #lovesculpture #frankievalli #stevemarriott #thekinks #parlophonerecords #britpop #vibrato #soulful #chamberpop #baroquepop #discovery

[divergentjm]

Experiments with modrock and cardboard.

This first one is based on the wheels that were part of the machinery at the mills.

I am working with the imagery from the engineering because I want to explore the idea of all the wheels and cogs working together to create. Same as thw people, no one person can manage the whole machine, no one part of the machine can do all the work. They all must work together.

Next is based on a big basket to cart around the wool, thread, and materials. I used cardboard and masking tape and then filled with scraps of fabric.

The pictures attached were taken at the New Lanark Mills.

You can see there large size, which is something I want to mimic later ok the the project. The sheer size of the machinery and equipment needed.

There are 2 types here as well. One leather bound and with wheels and the other woven. I would like to work with the woven technique and use it in my work. Maybe weave together a canvas to project something on to.

With this last one, I used strips of fabric tied together to make a chain. There were many chains used in Pasiely Thread Factories and New Lanark Mills machines.

For the first one I used a single dtrip of fabric for one link, and the other I used 2 strips twisted together.

I used fabric to relate to the thread being made in the factories. I hung them up so it was easier to get the full view. I like the way they hang. It reminds me of the factories with many bits and pieces hanging around, just like a work site. But next time, I want to make the chain longer and the links bigger.

[creativeenquiryrobertl]

My Summer making will be a progression from 3rd yr where i looked at how manipulation of narative is used to drive division in society. Exploring the elements of being human that conect us no matter what culture we are in or belife systems we have.

For yr 4 i intend to look at the meaning of self. My summer making was more to do with exploring media than the narative of my work. i like to spend time during the summer break just making for myself, i chose a scene from a photograph i took of Galsgow Cenetral Train Station. Using modrock as a textural substrate as a combonation of working with both plaster and strigned material . i wanted to see how well i could paint an accurste image on a textured surface. What i noticed during the process of the painting was that i had to manipulate or change a lines direction. Which could have more easily drawn as a line on a flat surface to create a readable image. This was the catalyst for my theoretical thinking and investigation in how drawn line and written line as context are and maluable in interpritation just like the material i was using in my physical making . i was also very interseted in how light was working on the surface. This led me into an exploration into another area of interest i have in the maening of space through the lense of asto phisisists thinking. Who often theorise on the meaning of our place as individuals in the universe,what it means to be human and our responsibliity as individuals to care about how we direct humanity to be its best self.

Artists and theoretical sources of my research are listed below and can be found in further datail on in my DIVERGANT PRACTICE AND CREATIVE   ENQUIRY PROPOSAL.

Artists Related to my area of reserch

Micheal Reeder: Uses abstarct elements in his paintings combined with the huhman form. The eyes in his portraits are cut out holes this makes the viewer look into them. The eyes are non expresive. My experiene of this was to feel the disconect of self from the external into a place of self .

Anhony Gormely : As part of his thinking he considers the body in terms of a space and the space we ocupy both in mind and body. His sculptures in the human form are often made with a view to allow light to pass through them . Location of his sculptures is always one of the most important parts of his work. The work holds meaning to the space it occupies .

Marc Quinn : Mark quins work is refective with a mirroring qualities. This allows his work to reflect it suroundings. Alowing the light to become maluable with his work .hi swork blensinto its environment .It reflects the sky the trees .As nature moves his work reflect that movement giving them an ever changing movement in space .

The images below are some experement i have attempted to make and work in portrait form that i found intersesting .due to its smoothness of line and its serelist nature inpost modern styling. its more the disconect and conection from reality that intriuges my quriosity.

The hand i made from a clay mould of my hand, Then casted it with plaster. Really just expermenting with the material i had laying around from a previous work. The hand comming out of clay actually make quite a powerful image as it apears to come out of an imersive space to a free space with nothing restricting it . I experemented with the cast .I used a black plastic bag as a background to try to create some movement round to give a feel of the entropy in space im trying to reflect in my work . This had a little sucess the bag has good textural propertis as a maluable material. Like the modock in my painting experement in the first image above. in the images above top left in red . i looked at light in inside a tube interesting experiment but i realised that the lihght was trapped in the tube which dose not express free movement of space an d will not work in this part of my planned maknig .The orange hand made with a plastic milk bottle paper and glue which I made as an experiment last year .Was hanging in the sun light. By chance I noticed the light passing through it. This connects with the idea of the of space light we live in and the freedom of self in that context .

For my next experemnety i worked with some photographs i had yaken of shaddow .While digitaly editing the photographs i created a colour which i think is perfect to express the calm state of mind i hope to express in my work as seen below .

Exploring Anthony Gormley in his work he encased himself fully in plaster cast .The experiment helped him to experience being full immersed in the external from self in a physical form I bought some face masks I tap explore the inside e part the mask as the internal self .i wanted to try and express a feel of entropy and fluidity to the self .i wore the masks,positioned them around my house looking at a how they made me feel as a representation of self looking at me .It was quite profound again the hollow eyes like in the Micheal reader work have that feel of depth beyond the external human form. I decided to make plaster casts of my face which may represent the physical self .i combined this with the colour in paint .The texture in plaster is somewhat rough but I think that only adds to the work and narrative of the external form self . I have chose to regress the depth of the face castings .this may work in a representation of fading into self and could work well merging into an entropic textured back ground where the external becomes processed into calm and order in mind .

Using mod rock i made a casts of my face .This was done with help from some of my fellow students . I measured the strips of material to cover my face . i used 3 layers based on experements i did. The feeling of my face being enclosed gave me a hightened awareness of my own physicality as the unfarmiliar feeling of havin g my face covered fully . i painted the casts in a watered down teal coloured acrylic paint this ha smade a very subtle tone and feel to the work i do not want to loose in the process later on .

i cut holes in this card to create a background to represent the permiable qualities of space by alowing light to pass through my work . i painted this the same teal colour, the darker image is a digital edited version ,i was experementing with colour using digital imaging.

These images are examples of how i may present my final piece .This is an unrefined stage. i will am now considering what to use as a suporting structure . i will probably use hardbore as to mount the work on . i have 4 head face casts . i need to consider my compositioon .

[creativeenquirypiotrgacmenga]

30/30 Degree Show

Overall, I am very happy with my degree show install. I was surprised that my space was that big, expecting it to be considerably smaller. This worked in my favour though as I think the work would be too crammed in otherwise. My install consists of various moulding and casting methods; plaster, concrete, clay, modrock, gloves, as well as a series of found objects I thought would add to the space. These hand casts hang from the wall using rebar inserted into holes. I had some issues putting some hands up as the rebar was too short as it sunk into the cast while drying, but this was alleviated through putting pins into the wall to secure them. This makes the install very stable and I am sure it won’t fall at any point. I chose to include a broken concrete cast that never set properly as to show the hand in a different context and form, a solid one and a powdered one. A lot of the hands interact with each other, creating a narrative between them. If I could fix one thing, I would play about with the positioning of the hands a bit more, maybe conveying movement or action through their position.

Hand Stuff is an amalgamation of thoughts and internal discussion on the objects around us. The hand has been prevalent in my practice since the beginning; in this context, it is reimagined as distorted plaster and concrete forms. Reclaimed clay is used to create ambiguous moulds that warp the natural appearance of the hand. This work pieces together research on the uncanny and the evocative power of found objects, both working in tandem to elicit strong emotions in the viewer. Whether these are negative or positive is up to the viewer to decide.

[processandproduction1]

These are the final photos of my house model before installing it on my site.

The best thing about this house that makes it really give the idea of a wee cottage back in the day in the thatched roof. I started off by just laying modrock on the structure I had made for the roof, similar to the last house I made. But I wasn't feeling the cottage in the country vibe. So, I gathered dried twigs and straw and split the thicker ones down the middle. Once adding them on I really felt the difference. To add a finishing touch I put moss on the roof and around the edges of the house.

All together, I am so pieced with my final piece and I found the experience of making in 3D a real learning curve. I am glad I pushed myself outside of my 2D box and experimented with new things.

[piotrgacreativenquiry]

Wednesday 13-03-2024 Writing Retreat

How and where do I begin? With a silly question of course. I am hoping this piece of writing will piece together some of my disparate thoughts and ideas about my critical enquiry module. Over the course of the year there has been a lot of thinking and whilst useful, I think it has bogged me down causing severe issue with the practical part of the project. I often find myself lost and overwhelmed by my thoughts. I don’t think this is a bad thing but it also needs reigned in, especially as we are coming up to the last stretch of fourth year, a scary thought. I was reading a review, critical one, of course, silly me thinking review would make sense without context, and found that the student spoke about a source that talked about how we as art students make work to pass, rather than the work we want to make. I kind of feel like that right now and want to make work that digresses from the work I have already generated for creative enquiry. I think part if it is that I’m aware that the undertaking of my work is huge and I’m worried I wont be able to complete it to a well enough quality for my liking. I don’t want someone else, aka Alan, to do all the work for me so I’ve been reluctant to ask for advice when I’ve needed it. Anyways, that’s my rant over, and now onto the juicy stuff like what my thoughts have been about recently.

My critical enquiry module focuses on uncanny representations of myself through sculpture and casting from my body which, no that sounds bad, start again. My critical enquiry module is an investigation into the uncanny through sculpture and body casting. These works are combined with found materials that are alluring and evocative for me. This, I think, is too broad from the get go. I want to create life-size casts of my body using materials like concrete and plaster but have fallen into issues like what materials to use for a mould. I have been able to use simple methods like modrock and alginate (in low amounts. I’m not rich, yet), which have served their purpose in a smaller scale, however now that I have made hands etc, I want to move onto the larger parts of my body but don’t have the technical skills to be able to achieve that in my opinion. How do I join parts together? Will my materials hold their own weight? This has slowed down my already slow making process and I worry that the making has ended, as I’m in a big rut right now that I’m struggling to get out of. I think partly knowing that I have an almost guaranteed place into my next year of university is to blame, as I have taken a foot of the gas physically, yet in my mind I stress so much about the amount of work I need and want to make.

I know why I want to make my work crude, I think it’s essential for evoking feelings of uncanniness in viewers. Whilst realism is also a nice way to achieve this, like Andy always says, why try to make something look realistic when you can’t and will make a half arsed job of it, when you can make something that is a bit tongue in cheek and/or crude. I think this approach will work and create pieces that are uncanny.

The main element that I have struggled with is the found object. Why am I using them? Why am I drawn to them? etc. I initially wanted to combine parts I have found with sculptural forms of the body. For example, a plaster cast arm, combined with a bike chain, to create a sort of hybrid collage that would unsettle the viewer. A face cast with a piece of wire embedded inside it. I began to make hands and arms and legs but what now? They aren’t connectable to anything without a lot of difficulty and struggle which I worry will damage my work. Woah, maybe I start from scratch? I begin to make what I said I would? I accept that what I have now, is finished, and that I should begin to make what I originally wanted to make! Wow why didn’t I think of this months ago, fucking idiot. These writing retreats are class they really help with getting your thoughts on paper, thank you Louise. Anyways back on track! So I begin from the start duh. So I start all over again. What now? I need a to-do list, a clear plan, and I think, an end goal. New paragraph please.

Found objects. When I walk down the street I tend to look around. I hate my generation and the younger ones that spend all their times on their phones, absorbed in their little devices. Are they the ones being taken on a walk? Are we pets to our phones? I always get annoyed when my girlfriend doesn’t notice the things I do when we are on walks, just look. I think phones have made us passive and flat beings that don’t know how to stay focused for long periods of time. Thanks TikTok. When walking I notice objects (this term is loose, ie OOO definition of objects) and whilst most just look like an object on the ground, many also have something to them. Recently when walking to work, I saw an empty meal deal sandwich packet on the grass and just saw it as rubbish, but beside it lay two vapes that spoke to me. They lay side by side, almost like they were displayed like that on purpose. It was here I realised that these objects react with each other and their environments without our own intervention, something Jane Bennett spoke about in Vibrant Matter. I think moving forward I need to make a journal of these objects and go out my way to remember them for what they really are and how they made me feel. Too many times I’ve walked past these objects and not recorded or taken them, which has resulted in severe regret, This is where my side project comes in. I have began to use AI to create representations of what I remember these objects to look like and so far it has worked great. AI is a scary thing. This works great as I’ve been combining them with very emotive pieces of writing which seems more serious than it is. To me it is serious, it is torment, but to someone else it may seem over the top. I wish I got my pal to drive me to this underpass on the motorway at night, stopped on the motorway, we break a few laws and health and safety regulations and I pick up that fucking fedora. Why didn’t I take that umbrella handle, I was out looking for objects and I just walked past it because it was in grass and the grass was wet and I didn’t have suitable footwear. What else was there? My mind is blank I looked at the time and I have 11 minutes left? Ooft. 1200 words going to try write my post-grad dissertation in one night. Back on track. There’s a bollard lying outside the college that I need to pick up and carve into an arm I think that would be fucking sick, that’s going in my end of year show 100%.

I’m really happy with my writing today. I feel class about where I am and feel confident going forward. It will be hard, to begin a new process from scratch but I look forward to it.

I guess I should come up with my 5 words ae?

TORMENT              FOUND OBJECT                   COLLAGE                     DOUBLE              LOST                           EVOCATIVE             JOURNEY                       EVOLUTION                          CRUDE                                    UNCANNY

Worries and doubts are starting to come back up again but I just need to get through today, I can’t come into college tomorrow as its my first driving lesson at 1 and then I’ll be doing a lot of thinking and organising on Friday, beginning the next stage of my project. Then the week after is install, but a lot of work can be done on Wednesday if we make an invigilation rota for our exhibition. Then Thursday is de-install and lesson and Friday we are back babbyyyyy.

[k00297206]

Disrupt Project- Exploring 3D Materials

I created a smooth, white base for the piece so that it looks like it's breaking out of stone, symbolising the perfectionism and me breaking free of it. The modrock cracks disrupt the smooth, white surface.

[summerprojectpiotrgacmenga]

Result of modrock hand mould. Surprised at the amount of detail this process has captured especially around the palm area. The ease and low cost of this process means it’s something I want to take further. I find this piece much more disturbing than the hyper realistic hand which perhaps surpassed the uncanny valley.

[amyannecreativeproject]

Final.

First building up a base shape using modrock I created this 3 dimensional texture creating the indents in the skin while having the hand perturbing outwards asserting its dominance. Then to smooth everything out I stretched a thin sheet over the canvas this preventing the cracks in the modrock from showing. I primed my canvas using gesso and then added paint. Once the paint was added I wanted to create further dimension in the hand. To do this I mixed flour with the paint creating a paste and I used that to build up more layers.

[lh-fmars1]

Group Project !

As a group we have begun making something all together. The small foam/wooden houses that we have made will also contribute to this piece and bring it all together.

The original idea of this is to create a sort of beast/monster with gorilla like features and attach houses and buildings to it which everyone participated in. Whilst the houses and things were being created, Oliver had created a baseline to work from to create actual dimension to the gorilla. After this was done, Anthony and Oliver used hot glue to stick cardboard on, and around the beast to create a stable base to stick modrock too. I'm pretty sure Kyrstie placed most of the modrock and let it harden so that we could decorate it the next monday we came in. Anthony and Oliver then stuck clay all around the model, constantly smoothing around it and making sure to add details in the muscles, arms, legs, etc, along the way. This was actually really clever and I believe Oliver did a really good job sculpting where the bones were and a good representation of where the muscles should be. I helped a tiny bit smoothening the clay over, but not as much as Oliver and Anthony had.

After all the clay was on and complete, other people in the class had began making armour pieces to place over the beast which made it look like it was in some kind of battle. I thought this was a really clever idea and liked how it all came together. It was then painted grey to give it more of a realistic colour.

[garagewaveradio]

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#thewho #rocknroll #modrock #torontoconcerts #toronto #torontoshows #whoareyou (at Scotiabank Arena) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1-F9nhgdWY/?igshid=w1544l5td74y

[divergentjm]

I made miniature hats out of cardboard, masking tape, and modrock. I was inspired to do this because of the hatters practice back in the 19th century. They would make miniature hat as example for there very rich customers. This would showcase theirs skills, materials, and variety of work.

I then cover one in fabric and glue to produce a more finished result. I enjoyed making these, and it was a good way to get my hand into more 3D elements.

I want to experiment more with 3D because I want to push myself this year into materials and techniques I usually shy away from.

Here is another sculpture I made out of clay. Here, I am playing with the female figure, which would be the wearer of the textiles made in Scotland.

I learnt a lot while sculpting the clay. I liked the way I could move and mark it, but disliked the lack of harsh and sharp edges. I found it a but soft and organic.

After this, I am leaning more towards industrial machinery and similar imagery.

[nicolagaetauniverse-blog]

Academy’ project

The Who - Long Live Rock

[creativeenquirypiotrgacmenga]

24/30 Face Cast

I also experimented with casting my face. This began with an alginate version that lacked details. My second one used silicon that lacked the stability to hold its shape resulting in a warped cast. I tried putting a piece of wood through it but it made the cast too disjointed and resulted in it separating. I quite like the angles the wood left, as well as the subtle wood grain that the plaster picked up. I could have experimented more using modrock as a moulding material but didn't think the pain was worth it for subpar effect.

[sirenrecords]

OUT TODAY: #acid #theinpartoftheoutcrowd LP #mainmanrecords #punkrock #modrock #powerpop #garagerock ALSO: THOSE ARE SIREN’S @chloetwosheds LEGS ON THE COVER!! (at Siren Records) https://www.instagram.com/p/BncFkXODQOY/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=143ply426xsjc